Yemen: the cease-fire agreement in Hodeida again weakened

ADEN – The ceasefire agreement in Yemen, wrested in Stockholm after intense diplomatic efforts, is again threatened following clashes on Saturday in Hodeida and the deadly drone attack on Thursday led by the Houthis against a parade of the Yemeni army

Despite the truce agreement concluded between the two camps under the auspices of the United Nations in December last year, in Sweden, the belligerents continue to clash, particularly in Hodeida, where most of the international humanitarian aid goes who arrives in the country.

According to witnesses quoted by local media, artillery fire and bursts of arms have been reported daily in the city since December 18, the date of entry into force of the ceasefire agreement. fire.

The elements of the "Ansarullah" (Houthis) movement accused the Arab-coalition aviation under Saudi command of conducting raids and violating the truce in Hodeida.

But last Thursday's drone attack on a Yemeni army military parade, claimed by the Ansarullah elements, dealt a blow to the ceasefire agreement signed in Stockholm.

The drone attack risks, in addition, to revive hostilities between the two countries, while the UN pledged a few days ago to bring the two parties to conflict for new talks before the end of the month of January in Amman (Jordan).

During this drone attack that targeted a military parade at Anad Air Force Base (south), at least seven soldiers were killed on the spot and 11 others wounded, according to Yemeni authorities.

Brigadier General Saleh Tamah, who was seriously injured during the attack, succumbed to his injuries on Sunday morning, medical sources said, adding that the deceased had undergone several surgeries in a hospital in Aden, but to no avail.

Among the wounded were the Yemeni Saleh Zendani deputy chief of staff, the commander of the 4th military zone Fadel Hassan and the governor of Lahj, Ahmed Abdallah Turki.

million. Turki and Zendani were transported to Saudi Arabia for treatment, a Yemeni official said.

The UN mediator calls for "restraint"

Condemned by the international community, the attack provoked disappointment and consternation, especially as the UN envoy for Yemen, Martin Griffiths, tries in recent days to restart the peace talks for the diplomatic resolution the conflict provoked more than 10,000 deaths and a serious humanitarian crisis.

The UN mediator for Yemen expressed concern over escalating violence and called on belligerents to "hold back" to maintain the "positive momentum" of recent talks.

Urging all parties to the conflict to exercise restraint and avoid any further escalation ", Martin Griffiths emphasized the creation of" an atmosphere conducive to maintaining the positive momentum generated by the consultations in Sweden and the resumption of Yemeni peace process. "

Despite this call, the Houthi elements refused Sunday to take part in a meeting on the Hodeida trek agreement, as a sign of dissatisfaction with UN chief of observers Patrick Cammaert.

According to media sources, the Houthis boycotted a meeting of the joint committee with the government, presided over by General Cammaert in Hodeida (West).

In a tweet, Mohammed Abdelsalam, who led the Houthi delegation to the peace talks in Sweden in December, accused the Dutch general of "pursuing another goal" than making progress towards consolidating the truce in this country. strategic city on the Red Sea

"The lack of progress in the implementation of the Hodeida agreement is largely due to the attitude of the chief observer of the UN," he said, without further details.

He called on UN envoy for Yemen, Martin Griffiths, to "remedy this situation". A UN source declined to comment on these statements.

The committee chaired by General Cammaert is supposed to organize redeployments of Houthi fighters and government forces.

The former are supposed to withdraw from the ports of Hodeida, Salif and Ras Issa. The forces of both sides should then withdraw from the city itself, but none of these redeployments has yet taken place.

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Journalist-Editor of the ALG24 website since December 2016. In the press since March 2014. Specialized in security and political information. E-mail: lettifimohamedsaber@gmail.com Phone number: 066 29 881 61